Push against the rock
A Man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled
with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work
for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The
Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his
might. This the man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set
squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock,
pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin
sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary
decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary
mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and
it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going
to move it."
Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and
that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened
the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in
my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough."
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it
a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
"Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting
all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is
wrong? Why am I failing?"
The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to
serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against
the rock with all, your strength, which you have done. Never once did
I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to
push, and now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that
you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your
arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands
are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive
and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities
now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the
rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise
our faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend,
will now move the rock."
Often when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect
to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple
obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that
moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the
mountains.
